Thursday, November 19, 2015

The
net increase is likely to be in the range of 22 per cent after subsuming the
current 119 per cent dearness allowance in the new basic and grade pay scale.

The
Seventh Pay Commission is likely to recommend a net increase of 22 per cent
over the current pay package of Central government employees with a 15 per cent
raise in basic pay and up to 25 per cent jump in allowances.

“The net increase is likely to be in the range of 22
per cent after subsuming the current 119 per cent dearness allowance in the new
basic and grade pay scale,” sources said. They said the net figure would
provide the government the leeway to add another 5-7 per cent increase — as was
done on the last two Pay Commission recommendations — to take the eventual
raise to nearly 30 per cent.

The
final figure, however, could be a tad below the 35 per cent hike employees got
on implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission in 2008. “That time the situation
was different. There was buoyancy in revenue collections. Now revenue receipts
have become stagnant,” an official said.

The
recommendation, which will become effective after a Cabinet nod, will impact 50
lakh Central government employees and 54 lakh pensioners. Sources said they
expected the entire approval process to take another four months, at least,
with the likelihood of its implementation by June next year.

However,
since the hike in salaries is effective from January 2016, the arrears until
June could be hived off as employees’ savings into the pension fund. “The
Controller General of Accounts is already considering options for investment of
Seventh Pay Commission arrears,” said an official